MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil provides 20% of the world's cotton supply, and is second global exporter

Abrapa said Asia imports 99% of the output of the world’s second-largest cotton exporter, China (27%), Vietnam (16%), Turkey (13%), and Bangladesh (12%)

Brazil provides 20% of the world’s cotton supply, making it the second largest cotton exporter in the world. Cotton represents Brazil’s seventh-largest export product in terms of value: in the market year 2021/2022 alone, 1.68 thousand tons were exported, generating more than USD 3.2 billion in cash. The stats were supplied by the industry association Abrapa.

Abrapa said the Asian market imports 99% of the output of the world’s second-largest cotton exporter, with China (27%), Vietnam (16%), Turkey (13%), and Bangladesh (12%) being the main costumers, followed by Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, India, and Thailand.

“Through research, technology, genetics, field management, and precise laboratory verification equipment, we have improved the quality of our products every year. Today we can say that we are on the same level as the best kinds of cotton in the world, with large-scale production”, explains the Director of International Relations at ABRAPA, Marcelo Duarte.

Along with ABRAPA, ApexBrasil (export promotion agency), the country runs Cotton Brazil, a program that promotes Brazilian cotton internationally and supports cotton producers in reaching foreign markets. Industry data indicate that sector exports reached US$ 3.4 million by November 2022, up 15% over the same period last year. More than 70% of this amount came from companies supported by Cotton Brazil.

To strengthen the relationship with its priority market, the project opened a representative office in Singapore, coordinated by Duarte. Networking actions, institutional partnerships, trade agreements between Brazil and countries in this market, such as China and India, hybrid events, and trade missions have already been carried out there.